Canadian woman anxiously waits for news on missing family members in Libya
CTV
With at least 11,300 believed to be dead in Libya from the flooding, an Ottawa woman anxiously waits for news on missing family members in Libya
Sagida Elnihum sits in her Ottawa kitchen scrolling through social media videos of the devastation in Derna, Libya.
On Sunday, a powerful storm pounded the port city with rain, bursting two dams, and levelling entire neighbourhoods. The Libyan Red Crescent said Thursday that 11,300 people have been killed, and a further 10,100 are reported missing
“This is where my grandmother's house was,” a distraught Elnihum said, pointing to an aerial video showing large swaths of mud and debris surrounding a downtown Mosque.
Elnihum recently confirmed 14 of her family members are dead, and five others are missing.
“It's not just death or flooding,” she said fighting through tears. “It’s memories. Home, where we (had) a beautiful gathering at Ramadan, where we eat, where we played, and it’s gone.”
Her sister and her three children were also feared missing, but aid workers found them Thursday in a neighbouring town.
“I want to hear her voice,” said Elnihum.
